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Wednesday, 6 October 2010

City Landmark Making Way for Station Redevelopment

By Ben Aulakh

Work to remove a landmark tower block next to Birmingham New Street Station has begun today.

Stephenson Tower, a former residential block, has been a city landmark for over 40 years and was constructed on top of the existing station when it was rebuilt in the 1960s.

The building will be demolished as part of the Birmingham Gateway Project to redevelop the city’s main station.

Regional Development Agency Advantage West Midlands have invested £100 million into the redevelopment of the city’s main transport hub.

Mark Foley, partnerships director at Advantage West Midlands, said, This project is of huge economic importance to the city of Birmingham, and our commitment is helping to create a legacy from which the city and West Midlands region will benefit in years to come.”

An Artists Impression of the redeveloped station

Mike Whitby, leader of Birmingham City Council commented: “The redevelopment of New Street Gateway will not only provide the city with a truly world class station, but also open up a hugely important area of the city centre to regeneration, job creation and growth.

Demolition of the residential block will pave the way for a new south entrance to the station, improving connections across the city and allowing a significant regeneration of the area

Andrew Skidmore, principal scheme sponsor for Network Rail commented: “The start of work to demolish Stephenson Tower is an important moment for the project and we’ve planned our work carefully so that we cause minimal disruption to both passengers and local residents.”

The inside of the proposed station.

To complete the demolition safely, the project team will construct a tower crane and encapsulate the structure in scaffolding.

Work to demolish the tower brick by brick will start in late November and complete next summer.

Network Rail is also working with Birmingham City Council to provide a viable development opportunity on the south side of the station.

Photograph of Stephenson Tower from Erebus555. Photographs of Station redevelopment from www.newstreetnewstart.co.uk